BarryP wrote about a lot of other ideas for running and training for the run leg of the triathlon before he wrote about running drills and that means, to me at least, that drills aren't as important as just getting out there and running, but they do offer some benefits.

Slowman wrote an article that I thought was pretty interesting about technique, The High Cost of Good Form,(http://www.slowtwitch.com/...corn/costofform.html), perhaps you've read it. I like what he wrote, and if I wasn't able to paste the link I would spend some time paraphrasing it here.

At the end of the day, I think good technique won't make anyone slower, but it only goes so far.

I also think that drills won't help a runner who has functional issues with their core.

I would probably run the last 10% of any tempo run a few seconds slower if I didn't change my focus from how much I was hurting to thinking about how I was running.

This is where drills are useful for me--I do them a few times a week so I can check my form over and over when I'm running.